Dennis Wheatley - Traitors' Gate

Stepping out into the broad corridor, Gregory now saw that the lights were also on in the hall, throwing into sharp relief the balustrade of the gallery which, with the head of the main staircase, formed the central section of the corridor. On tiptoe he ran towards them, hoping that he might get down the stairs while the hall was still unoccupied.

In that he was thwarted. As he reached the head of the stairs, he heard a door close and the murmur of voices. Pulling up he looked quickly about him. At the ends of the gallery there hung two six feet wide velvet curtains on semicircular rails, their purpose being to form a background for the two suits of Turkish armour. With swift catlike strides he reached the nearest curtain and slipped in front of it, then stationed himself behind the armour. The steel and leather shape of a man hid him from anyone who looked up in that direction from the hall, and if Sabine brought Ribbentrop up to her bedroom the curtain would conceal him while they passed behind his back.

He had hardly taken up his position when Sabine and her midnight visitor emerged from under the stairs into his field of vision. The Foreign Minister was wearing undress uniform: a naval type jacket of dark blue with aiguillettes of gold braid draped on his right shoulder, a long row of medals and four stars of various orders on his left breast. Gregory decided that he really was quite a good-looking fellow and took in with silent satisfaction the fact that he had not brought anyone with him.

That was a good omen, yet the atmosphere seemed slightly strained, for the couple crossed the hall without speaking. Sabine again had on her crimson housecoat, her glossy dark hair framed her pale face with no trace of disorder and, as she calmly lit a cigarette before sitting down in an armchair, no one could possibly have supposed that less than ten minutes earlier she had been in bed with a lover.

Ribbentrop walked straight over to the trolley and mixed himself a drink. As he did so Gregory was alarmed to see that on it there still stood two dirty glasses: his own and Sabine's.

That might prove a giveaway. But the tall Foreign Minister did not seem to have noticed. Having swallowed half his drink, he said:

'I'm sorry to have pulled you out of bed on account of such a stupid affair; but I must know what you have been up to with this man Tavenier.'

Gregory's upper teeth closed gently on his lower lip. 'So he had been right. Grauber had got on to Ribbentrop and asked him to question his mistress. Well, it was now up to Sabine.'

Only a trained eye like Gregory's could have spotted any sign of agitation in her. She had her long legs crossed. From beneath the edge of her crimson housecoat the bare ankle of the upper one showed and from the forepart of her foot there dangled a marabou trimmed silver mule. It began to swing back and forth, but her voice was perfectly calm as she answered.

'I told you last night, Joachim. He is an old friend of mine. I saw quite a lot of him before the war, when I was staying with his aunt in Paris. This morning I ran into him again at the Gellert Baths. He offered to give me lunch, and as I had nothing particular to do I accepted. You know how amusing a sophisticated Frenchman can be. But I needn't stress that point. You must have seen for yourself last night what good company Etienne is. As you were tied up with these eternal conferences, we decided to spend the rest of the day together. Then I had the idea that it would be fun to have him to stay for a night or two. I could hardly do less after all the time he had spent taking me round Paris. He collected his things from the Vadaszkürt and came here to change. After a drink we went out to have dinner at the Arizona. You appear to know the rest.'

'I know about your having got him out of the lockup; but what happened after that?'

'We got in the car to drive home…'

'He is here, then!' Ribbentrop's voice held a staccato sharpness.

'No. And that is the only strange part about it. Just before we reached the Swing Bridge he said he felt ill and wanted to be sick; so I stopped the car and he got out. To my amazement, without a word to me, he ran off into an alley. I shouted after him, but he took no notice. I can only suppose that the blow on the head he had had temporarily sent the poor fellow out of his mind. I drove home and waited for some time, hoping that he would get back his wits and remember that he was supposed to be staying here. But he hasn't put in an appearance or telephoned; so I haven't the faintest idea what has become of him.'

'There are grounds for believing him to be an English secret agent.'

'What!' Sabine exclaimed, her big eyes growing round with well feigned astonishment. 'But that is absurd! I know him to be a Frenchman.'

Ribbentrop shrugged. 'Perhaps he is a de Gaullist who is working for the British. Anyhow, after he had been questioned at the police station he knew that he had been recognized as a man wanted by the Gestapo. That would account for his leaving you like that. He knew that if he came back with you he would soon be followed here and rearrested; so as soon as he could he seized on the chance to get away.'

'I can't believe it!'

'I was dubious myself anyhow about his being an Englishman. But Grauber claims that he knows him well; and that he is an ace high British spy named Sallust.'

'Who is Grauber?' Sabine asked with a puzzled frown.

'Have you never heard of him? He is one of Himmler's top men and is responsible for all Gestapo activities outside the Reich. He is in Budapest to investigate rumours that a little clique of anti Nazi Hungarian notables is toying with the idea of entering into negotiations with the enemy. Purely by chance he ran into this man Tavenier, or Sallust, or whoever he is. As you know, they had a fight and were both taken off to the police station. Grauber showed his credentials and wanted to remove his catch to the Villa Petoefer that is the Gestapo Headquarters here but the Hungarians wouldn't let him. So he came up to the Palace, to ask me to get a special permit signed by Admiral Horthy. He was given it, but by the time he got back to the police station you had let the bird out of the cage. Back to the Palace came Grauber, in a fine rage, to demand that special measures should be taken to catch the bird again; and when I heard that you were responsible for the fellow's release I decided that I must see you at once to find out what was behind all this.'

'There is nothing behind it. I have not the least doubt that it is a case of mistaken identity. You had better go back to the Palace and tell this man Grauber so.'

'You will have a chance to tell him so yourself in a few minutes.'

Sabine suddenly sat forward and asked in a voice just a shade higher' than usual, 'What do you mean by that?'

'He left me to collect some of his colleagues who have been mixed up in this thing; but he must be on his way here by now.'

Gregory, peering down from behind the suit of armour, stiffened where he stood. Those last words confirmed his worst fears of the way matters might develop. For a moment he contemplated slipping behind the curtain, hunting round till he found some back stairs, then trying to find a way out of the house; but instead of appearing perturbed Sabine displayed only calculated indifference.

'Am I to understand,' she enquired, raising her eyebrows, 'that you intend to stand quietly by while I am grilled by some Gestapo thug?'

'No! No! Of course not!' he protested quickly. 'But they are entitled to any reasonable help that I can give them. I take it that Pipi has gone to bed?'

'Yes. Why do you ask?'

'I was thinking about letting these people in. It would be better to keep the servants out of this.' As he spoke the Minister walked towards the vestibule, adding over his shoulder, 'It is so warm, it won't matter leaving the front door open; then they will not have to ring.'